Senin, 26 Agustus 2013

God's Hand at Work in North Korea



God's Hand at Work in North Korea

By Jeremy Reynalds
Senior Correspondent for ASSIST News Service

NAPIER, NEW ZEALAND (ANS) -- It began on a flight to Moscow.
Owen holds up his shofar in Pyongyang
While enroute to attend a conference with a contingent of Asian Market Place ministers, Owen Pomana, 42, an indigenous Maori from New Zealand, had a vision of a colored flag. The star stood out. When Pomana asked God what the star represented, he saw the letters NK.
One of the businessmen flying with Pomana was from South Korea, and Pomana shared the vision with him. It was then that Pomana said he had a strong feeling he was supposed to fly to North Korea to share God's Word and sound the shofar (trumpet) there.
Pomana's friend though it would be important for him to go to North Korea, so they prayed and committed the matter to the Lord.
However, a number of issues needed to fall into place for the trip to happen. Pomana said he wanted a scriptural confirmation, the right timing and the provision of the necessary finances.
Pomana said he knew the only way you can enter North Korea is by a tour; there is absolutely no other way to go. He found that a five day tour would cost 3200 dollars, a double entry visa 210 dollars, and a little other money for miscellaneous expenses.
The airline tickets cost about $3500.
Owen with his shofar besides a bewildered North Korean soldier in the DMZ
If God wanted Pomana in North Korea, the funds would have to be available in three weeks. That August tour date was the last one for the year.
Pomana said he had a real concern for imprisoned American Kenneth Bae, given a 15 year prison term, and that his going to North Korea could possibly make a difference for Bae in the spiritual realm. He said he felt the importance of him going on the tour was vital, because Bae had been locked up for a number of months, had lost a significant amount of weight and was quite sick.
Pomana said he received the confirmations for which he had been looking, a major one being that the necessary funds arrived within three weeks.
However, Pomana said, he continued to pray and meditate about his pending upcoming trip, as he wanted to make sure it was God's Will.
Kenneth Bae looking gaunt in a
North Korean prison
Pomana knew he had to believe that the North Korean authorities would not do an Internet search on him, because they would find numerous references to his Christian activities, including his comments about and concern for Bae.
Pomana's attention was drawn to John 13: 15. "Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one's life for one's friends."
Pomana said Bae had laid down his life for his friends and for his King, and was now separated from his wife and family. God was sending in a watchman "with the sound of the trumpet" (shofar), to affect the spiritual atmosphere over North Korea.
Owen plays the shofar over the North Korean capital, Pyongyang
Pomana's next challenge would be to get an Israeli shofar into China. He knew he would be faced with X-ray machines.
Pomana said God told him he needed to obtain a "bio security" certificate for the shofar, and change its description to a musical instrument. At what he felt was God's leading, Pomana also had the shofar carved with indigenous patterns so it appeared to have originated in New Zealand.
With his expenses paid and his visa in hand, Pomana set out on the first leg of his North Korean adventure.

Arriving in China, Pomana experienced his first miracle. He said when your bag goes through the X-ray machine, it stops for a few seconds so the official can see what you're carrying, but in his case the official looked away and his bag was cleared.

After staying a night in Beijing, Pomana arrived at the airport, where he met a couple of women. His New Zealand themed shirt was a point of interest, causing one of the women to say, "You're a Kiwi."
Pomana said that was indeed the case and the woman responded that she was also.
She asked Pomana why he was going to North Korea and he said if she could keep a secret, he would tell her. She said she could, so he told her he was going there to pray.
She responded, "We are too; we're prayer intercessors. God is sending us in to pray."
Owen, holding his shofar, pictured with a stern-faced North Korean soldier
Understandably amazed, Pomana told her that he had a shofar in his luggage which he sounded wherever he went. He called it "releasing the sound of heaven."
He then asked the woman if she was familiar with the story of Kenneth Bae. She said she was, and that's why she was going.
Pomana said, "These women were fearless warriors for Christ, sent on mission too. We laughed and giggled like little children. We had the assurance there and then that we were in God's perfect will, and had been sent."
They all enjoyed coffee and lunch, while sharing stories of faith and courage together.
Finally they arrived in Pyongyang, to a strong military presence. Pomana said there were stern looks and guns. He immediately began to pray.
As his luggage went through the X-ray machine, Pomana again witnessed officials looking away for some unexplainable reason. The shofar remained safe.
Feeling a tangible presence of angels around him, Pomana knew that he was in the midst of something supernatural.
Arriving in his hotel room, Pomana sounded his shofar and "released the sound of heaven" over North Korea. He also verbalized scriptures.
Over the next four days, Pomana said he grew progressively bolder as he asked permission to play the shofar. He said, "I took it with me wherever I went. The minders were taking notes wherever (we went). They were keen to know what it was, but they didn't have a clue what it was. I showed them the indigenous carvings on it, and it seem to appease their questions."
Pomana took a trip to the DMZ, or the demilitarized zone between the North and South border.
At the top he took video, and asked if he could sound his shofar. He was given permission.
Owen displays his shofar in North Korea
Pomana said, "I sounded one long blast, the 'Tekiah.' The guard then lunged forward and said 'stop,' after he realized how loud it was. I had no doubt it was being heard by the South Korean Authorities, and all those cameras were recording."
Pomana added, "All the people on my tour and others had recorded possibly the first ever sounding of the shofar from Israel in the DPRK."
Over the next few days Pomana then sounded the shofar at a number of monuments in and around Pyongyang, as well as a number of other locations.
However, he said, the highlight of his trip was making a speech in Maori, which he knew North Korean officials wouldn't be able to translate. As a number of people gathered around, Pomana said he continued by declaring prophetically in Maori Christ's reign and kingship over the nation.
Reflecting back on the tour, Pomana said he realized he had been given incredible favor not just to share his culture, "but to carry the love from our nations and speak to the people and the land."
However, Pomana wondered if he might end up being taken away for questioning about his frequent use of the shofar and the significance behind it.
"Was there going to be a knock on the door and would I be taken away," Pomana asked himself. "I was prepared for the consequences of my actions, (and ready) to join my brother Kenneth Bae in prison, but I trusted in The Lord to deliver me from the hand of the enemy."
Arriving at the border of Dandong, China and North Korea there was a long wait. When the train stopped, machine gun toting soldiers accompanied by German Shepherds wanted to inspect passports and look through bags. In addition, they checked iPads and cameras.
Pomana said, "Two hours of waiting seemed a long time. This was yet another time of intense prayer. Just over the bridge was freedom. Then finally passports were given back, and the train proceeded to deliver me into freedom, away from the confines of a culture willing to die for their supreme leader, Kim Jong Un."
To his supporters who made the trip possible Pomana said, "I want to thank you all for standing with me in prayer, for sowing finances, and for believing in me. I love you all dearly, and the memory of this trip I will never forget."
Pomana said he now wants to share his experiences with as many people as possible, and actively pursue Bae's release in whatever way God allows.
If you would like to contact Owen Pomana, please e-mail him at: owen1971pomana@gmail.com
Also, you can view some of his videos in North Korea at:

Share     See all ASSIST News articles at www.assistnews.net

Jumat, 23 Agustus 2013

They laid down their armor

 
THEY LAID DOWN Their ARMOR
by David Wilkerson

"And when Moses saw that the people were naked; (for Aaron had
made them naked unto their shame among their enemies:) then
Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said, Who is on the
Lord's side? Let him come unto me" (Exodus 32:25-26).

The Hebrew word used here for naked is para, meaning "to loosen,
expose, dismiss." It also implies "a new beginning."

A modern beer commercial admonishes this generation to "turn
it loose tonight." It simply means to throw off past moral inhibitions,
shake free of all law, begin pleasing yourself. Do your own thing,
whatever makes you happy.

Merely taking off their clothes was not corruption; it was the signal,
the message they were sending to the heathen looking on. Can
you see the Amalakites on the surrounding mountains, far off,
looking on this peculiar scene? These enemies, who had trembled
when they saw God at work among them, now laughed and mocked,
"Look at them. They are just like us! Their God has no power. They
don't even trust in Him! They want to lust and party and play just
like all the rest of us. What hypocrisy!"

In that one act of nakedness they belittled their God in the eyes of
the ungodly! They made God seem heartless, cruel, uncaring and
helpless. They besmirched the honor and majesty of an omnipotent
God. They were no longer an example, no longer admired or feared
or respected.

They had laid their armor down to party! They put in jeopardy God's
plans for their salvation. They were saying to the world, "We don´t
want to fight any more enemies! We don´t want to resist! We have
had enough of rejection, of sacrifice, of future hopes and far-off
blessings. We want to live now! We want to enjoy ourselves! We
want the good times to roll."

The corruption was this: This was to be their new beginning. No
more combat! If they were going to have to exist in a hard, cruel
wilderness, then they would quit the struggle and make do the
best they could-on their own.

-Source-

http://sermons.worldchallenge.org/en/node/23975

© 2012 World Challenge. All rights reserved. PO Box 260, Lindale,
TX 75771-0260, (903) 963-8626.

More GREAT QUOTES

 
More GREAT QUOTES
-Sermonindex.

"I'm not about to put up a silly skit and preach a 15-minute message
on 'how to cope' to a multitude of people who are dying and going to
hell. I tremble at the thought."
- David Wilkerson

"Going to church doesn't make you a Christian any more than
going to the garage makes you a car."
--Laurence J. Peter

"If you are strangers to prayer you are strangers to power."
- Billy Sunday

"Satan dreads nothing but prayer... He fears nothing from prayerless
studies, prayerless work, and prayerless religion. He laughs at our
toil, mocks at our wisdom, but trembles when we pray."
--Samuel Chadwick

"The devil's not fighting churches today, he's joining churches."
-Vance Havner.

"Nevertheless settle it firmly in our minds that sin is 'the
abominable thing that God hateth' that God 'is of purer eyes than
to behold iniquity, and cannot look upon that which is evil.'
- J.C. Ryle

Sabtu, 17 Agustus 2013

GREAT QUOTES

NOTE FROM ANDREW:  Romania is a long way from New
Zealand - and it took me 5 flights to get home! Lovely to be back
with the family. Thanks so much for all your prayers, my friends.
A wonderful trip. - Bless you! - Andrew Strom.


More GREAT QUOTES
-Sermonindex

"Their eyes are dry, their sense of sin absent; nor is there any sign
of penitence and contrition... But oh, if there were conviction! if they
came with hearts bowed down, yea! broken and contrite, came with
the cry of the guilt-laden soul... what converts they would be!"
-Oswald J. Smith

"In prayer I was exceedingly enlarged and my soul was as much
drawn out as I ever remember it to have been in my life. I was in
such anguish, and pleaded with so much earnestness and
importunity, that when I rose from my knees I felt extremely weak
and overcome I could scarcely walk straight."
-David Brainerd

"Prayer was his one great solace, and his tears would often stain
the altar steps, where he sought aid from heaven against the vile
and corrupt age".
-From 'Girolamo Savonarola' by David Smithers.

"I had not discoursed long when the congregation melted into
tears... a little boy about seven or eight years of age cried out
exceeding piteously indeed and wept as though his little heart
would break. I asked the little boy what he cried for. He answered
'my sins!' I then asked him what he wanted. He answered, 'Christ!'
...Many of the assembled were deeply affected, groaning and
sobbing; there was a great weeping and mourning."
--William Bramwell

"When the conviction as to its mental process reaches its crisis,
the person, through weakness, is unable to sit or stand, and either
kneels or lies down. A great number of convicted persons in this
town and neighborhood, and now I believe in all directions in the
north where the Revival prevails, are "smitten down"... They fall
with a deep groan... with the intensely earnest plea, 'Lord Jesus,
have mercy on my soul!'"
-The Irish Revival, 1859.

"The power of God was present. They came to be saved, and
were not disappointed. The sobs and cries were wonderful. It
seemed as if God had come down in terror and power; as if the
Spirit were passing through every region of every soul... until
the whole soul, collecting all its energies into one out-cry for
mercy, exclaimed, 'God, be merciful to me a sinner, what must
I do to be saved? Save, Lord, or I perish! O, save or I sink into
hell. Heal my soul for I have sinned against Thee!"
-James Caughey

Jumat, 16 Agustus 2013

RUINED in ROMANIA!!


RUINED in ROMANIA!!
by Andrew Strom

I am writing this in one of those squat concrete Communist apart-
ment buildings where I spent the night last night. But despite the
Communists' best efforts, Romania is still a beautiful country
and this has been a very interesting trip.

Above all, it has been so refreshing to be in a 'European'-type
country where convicting Holy Ghost preaching is actually
WELCOMED instead of being shown the door. I cannot count
the number of Romanian leaders who have begged me to come
back to preach the same kind of heart-searching "clean conscience"
message again. I have grown so used to the West - where I am
"NIB" - Never Invited Back - almost without fail. Even when they
see people repenting all over the place. So discouraging. The last
10 years have been something of a nightmare - except in places
like Africa which also welcomes this kind of piercing word. Many
times I have felt like a complete outcast.

Here it is the opposite. People love the word - and have actually
been praying for piercing Holy Ghost preaching that convicts and
cleanses. They don't care about "feel-good". They want the word
of the Lord - and they recognize the heavy presence of the Holy
Spirit when they witness it. -So refreshing.

Prayer is uppermost in the Pentecostal churches here. Even on
Sunday mornings there is an hour of prayer before the main
meeting - and the room is packed. They truly believe in "agonizing"
prayer. And these are big churches. To be sure, Western eyes
might see them as being more "traditional" than we are used to.
Romania is still modernizing, and still coming to terms with the
flood of Western influences - not all of them good. But at least they
have kept out a lot of the "junk". So not every tradition is "bad".

It seems to me that many parts of the West have now completely
lost the things that made them open to God's great Awakenings
of the past. A comfortable, consumerist culture is unlikely to want
to hear about piercing repentance - even in the church. We have
come so far that I question whether many nations are open to a
true Revival at all any more. A fake shallow one like Lakeland - yes.
But a true "repentance" Revival? Not likely.

The dry "kindling" in peoples' hearts that God always used to start
Revivals in the past is now utterly lacking. In many places a piercing
word of the Finney/Wesley type has not been heard in a generation.
We are so used to "marketing-speak" and consumer hype - so used
to having our ears tickled - that Holy Spirit conviction is most unwelcome.

Sadly if this is so, we can kiss our Awakenings goodbye. They
don't come out of "nowhere", as some people think. Every
Awakening needs "kindling-wood" to start and to spread. In the
West this has virtually disappeared in the great rush to satisfy
"self". A sad day indeed.

And so I look forward to visiting Romania again. Maybe so should
we all.

-PLEASE COMMENT on this topic at the website below-

http://www.revivalschool.com/

Jumat, 09 Agustus 2013

JOIN TORBEN's ONLINE TRAINING SCHOOL!

JOIN TORBEN's ONLINE TRAINING SCHOOL!
-Andrew Strom.

In recent weeks we have featured a number of Torben Sondergaard's
videos and his article on "Another Great Reformation." He is the
man who takes teams of people out on the streets - praying for
the sick, preaching the gospel, baptizing, etc. He also has a lot
of insights on the shape of tomorrow's church. I have known
Torben for six years, and I strongly recommend his ministry.

Starting this Sunday, Torben is starting a free online training school.
Those who sign up will receive an email each week with a video,
Bible study, etc. I believe this will be well worth the time - and it
costs nothing to participate. Highly recommended.

Below is the webpage to sign up for it-

http://www.thelastreformation.com/the-pioneer-school.html


God bless you all!

Andrew Strom.

TROUBLERS of ISRAEL

TROUBLERS of ISRAEL
by David Wilkerson

Who are the real troublemakers in the house of God today? It is
not the Elijah company, who sigh and cry over the abominations
of the church. It is not those who expose sin and testify against
the wicked deeds of religious leaders and those at ease in Zion.
No, all division is caused by compromise. All trouble in God's
house is the result of apostasy and the forsaking of the Lord's
commandments. "For where envying and strife is, there is
disorder and every evil work" (James 3:16).

Paul warns the brethren to "mark them which cause divisions . . .
and avoid them" (Romans 16:17). But who were these who
"caused offenses contrary to the doctrine taught?" They were
none other than a self-centered, backslidden group who "served
their own belly" (verse 18). This proves that division is caused
by proud, arrogant catering to self-interests. Paul said, "By good
words and fair speeches [they] deceive the hearts of the simple
(unsuspecting)" (verse 18). Those who are soft on sin, overlooking
evil deeds and crying unity, are the real divisionists. The true
body of Christ has never been nor ever will be divided. Those in
holy union with Christ are already united to each other. Sin is
the divider!

Paul and Silas were brought before the magistrates of the city of
Philippi, having been accused of "exceedingly troubling" the city
(Acts 16:20). They were beaten and cast into prison as a result
of the trouble they had caused. What was this exceeding great
trouble? Paul and Silas had cast a fortune-telling spirit out of a
damsel who had "brought her masters much gain by soothsaying.
... And when her masters saw that the hope of their gains was
gone, they caught Paul and Silas" (Acts 16:16 and 19).

When self-interest is threatened in any way, the cry goes up,
"Troublemakers! Division! Threat to unity!" Paul and Silas had
uncovered a religious con game, a demonic deception under the
guise of religion. It was a very profitable scheme for a select few
who knew how to manipulate undiscerning crowds. What raised
the cry, "Division"? It was a revival of cleansing. Those who
accused Paul and Silas of causing dissension had ulterior
motives and they refused the call to repent and walk in holiness.

God, give us more troublers of Israel who are not afraid to stand
up against religious hypocrisy and disobedience!

-Source-

http://sermons.worldchallenge.org/en/node/23729

© 2012 World Challenge. All rights reserved. PO Box 260, Lindale,
TX 75771-0260, (903) 963-8626.

Jumat, 02 Agustus 2013

Quotes

NOTE:  I am writing this from Frankfurt Airport, Germany - on my
way to Romania. Would greatly appreciate your prayers over the
next 2 weeks, my friends. - Bless you! - Andrew Strom.

More GREAT QUOTES
-Sermonindex

"Obedience is the crown and honour of all virtue."
-Martin Luther

"Speak to your people as to men that must be awakened, either
here or in hell..."
- Richard Baxter

"The unction, the divine unction, this heavenly anointing, is
what the pulpit needs and must have."
-E.M. Bounds

"When the house churches heard about the arrest of 36 of the 39
workers, do you think they were disillusioned? Far from it! Believers
all around the nation lifted up holy hands before the Lord and with
tears streaming down their cheeks they thanked the Lord for performing
the great miracle of getting three Chinese missionaries out of China!
We have learned to be thankful for any advance of the gospel."
- from Back To Jerusalem: Three Chinese House Church Leaders Share
Their Vision to Complete the Great Commission

'In a letter smuggled out secretly, the Underground Church said, "We
don´t pray to be better Christians, but that we may be the only kind
of Christians God means us to be: Christlike Chris¬tians, that is,
Christians who bear willingly the cross for God´s glory."'
-Richard Wurmbrand